Why?
by Blade1
Summary: Now Updated with a new chapter! After the events in Superheroes, Bosco remembers why he became a cop. Warning: Contains Child Abuse
1. Glimpse of the Past

WHY?  
  
By: Blade  
  
  
  
Rated R: Descriptive Child Abuse and bad language  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue. Nothing belongs to me except for the names of the bullies and the teachers, although you can have them.  
  
Summary: After the events of Superheroes, Bosco reflects on why he became a cop.  
  
Spoilers: Contains parts from "Superheroes II", "Long Guns" and a part from "Ohio", where Bosco talks about his childhood.  
  
Warning: This fan fiction contains child abuse, if this sort of thing offends you stop reading now.  
  
Please tell me what you think. This is my first fan fiction attempt ever so be nice. This has not been beta'd so please ignore my mistakes. (  
  
'Indicates Maurice's thoughts'  
  
Chapter 1 – Glimpses of the Past  
  
Bosco roughly sat on the bench in the locker room. He was so exhausted mentally and physically. He rubbed his face with his hands. "How could this happen?" he asked out loud, the action of the past few hours haunting him.  
  
At that time, Gusler came flying into the locker room. Bosco watch from across the room as Gusler tore his uniform off piece by piece. 'I guess I can't blame him Bosco said to himself. I probably should say something, but then again this is probably the best for him. He isn't cut out for police work. At least this way he is young enough to try something else. Why the hell did he want to be a cop anyway? Why did any of us become cops?' That thought took Bosco back to the fifth grade . . .  
  
  
  
Monday, April 23, 1980  
  
Maurice Boscorelli sat bored to death in the back seat of Mrs. Potter's science class. He had tried everything from doodling to chewing on the end of his pencil. Now all he was trying to do was to keep his head from hitting the desk. He looked at the clock, only 10 more minutes until break, surely he could last just 10 more minutes.  
  
"Okay, kids please pass in you homework and that will be it for today." Mrs. Potter asked.  
  
'Homework?!?' Maurice thought. 'Oh shit!! I was so busy this weekend hiding in my room from my dad that I completely forgot!'  
  
A red headed student named Vinnie Spadero turned around to get Maurice's paper. Maurice just shrugged at him. Vinnie gave a frown and raised his hand and said in a sing-song voice, "Mrs. Potter, Maurice doesn't have his homework…AGAIN!"  
  
Maurice turned red, "tattletale" Maurice muttered behind Vinnie's back. Vinnie was the nerd of the class. All year long he always had his homework, he always did the extra credit, and he just loved to get others in trouble, especially Maurice.  
  
"Again, Maurice?" Mrs. Potter came to stand next to the now wide eyed and red faced boy.  
  
"Sorry Mrs. Potter," Maurice tried his best innocent face but he could tell that Mrs. Potter was not buying it.  
  
"This is the last time Maurice, I'm going to have to call your parents tonight."  
  
'Great that's all I need,' Maurice thought.  
  
The bell rang interrupting any other conversation. 'Finally break time!' Maurice put his stuff away and headed outside to the break area.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tell me what you think! Please R/R Blade 


	2. Broken at Breaktime

Warnings: Contains Child abuse so be warned  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 – Broken at Break Time  
  
  
  
He made his way to the playground. There was a small brick wall there that stretched the length of the playground. There were already many students sitting on it, but Maurice found a spot and sat preparing to eat his chips that he had brought for a snack. About that time Johnnie Gunther and his group of bullies passed by. Maurice stayed away from those guys, they were not afraid of anyone and pounded anyone who got in their way.  
  
Maurice followed their path trying to figure out where they were headed when he saw none other than Vinnie Spadero sitting at the end of the wall. For some reason his stomach just lurched. Wimpy Vinnie was no match for those guys.  
  
Johnnie walked up to Vinnie while his friends were laughing.  
  
"Hey you, nerd" Johnnie yelled. Vinnie paled while everyone else cleared the area and looked the other way, all except Maurice who couldn't keep his eyes off what was happening.  
  
"You made me look bad earlier in class," Johnnie continued. "I don't like being made a fool."  
  
"I...I…" Vinnie sputtered.  
  
"Shut up, wimp," with that Johnnie grabbed Vinnie and through him on the ground in the middle of a mud puddle. Maurice cringed. He looked around 'Where the hell are the teachers?' There were always a number out here supervising the students, but of course today none could be found. Sure he didn't like Vinnie very much, he had gotten him in trouble many times that year and was always making everyone look dumb. But it made him sick to see Johnnie now pushing Vinnie's face in the mud.  
  
'Somebody should do something,' Maurice thought.  
  
Johnnie's friends were now kicking the now crying Vinnie who was covered in mud. 'There's no way in hell you'll ever see me cry in front of everyone,' Maurice thought to himself. 'What a wimp!' But regardless, Maurice couldn't stand it anymore, he got up and started running over.  
  
Always being small for his age, he was a lot smaller than any one of those guys, and he and Vinnie were outnumbered two to five. If we could run from them or at least hold them off for a couple of minutes the teachers should be here by then. He got all the way there to the guys before anyone noticed him. He caught the two guys closest to him in a flying tackle. All three guys fell to the ground with a grunt. Instantly the other three turned to see what who had dared to interfere with them.  
  
Maurice jumped back to his feet and went straight to Vinnie. "Come on man, we've got to run and find some help."  
  
Vinnie didn't do anything except curl up and keep crying.  
  
"Great" Maurice said as he turned to see Johnnie and his friends now REALLY ANGRY. 'Now I'm outnumbered one to five.'  
  
"Now look what we have here boys," Johnnie said, "Another punching bag to play with." The boys all started laughing. "Come on pip squeak."  
  
Maurice decided that he should try to get all the hits in that he could. 'Maybe it will catch them off guard,' Maurice hoped to himself as he leaped up to Stanley, one of Johnnie's friends. He immediately punched the guy in the stomach. Stanley laughed. "Is that all you got kid?"  
  
Maurice immediately got scared, but he was vowed and determined not to let them know that. Just then one of Johnnie's friends grabbed him from behind and held his arms. Maurice had been so distracted that he hadn't noticed the guy going around behind him. Now Maurice was really scared, he couldn't move 'where are those teachers at?' Stanley then moved in front of him and punched him in the stomach. Hard. Maurice gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.  
  
"Just returning the favor" Stanley sneered. He then hit Maurice in the face splitting his lip.  
  
"Save some for the rest of us Stan" Johnnie laughed.  
  
'I will not cry. I will not cry' Maurice kept repeating that mantra to himself over and over.  
  
Maurice knew little more after that as the blows came from all over. It seemed hours, when it had actually been only a few minutes when the teachers came running and pulled the larger boys off.  
  
Maurice groggily got up and looked around. Vinnie was standing on the other side of the wall, still crying. 'Figures.'  
  
"Are you alright?" a teacher named Mr. Wagner asked Maurice.  
  
"Yeah," muttered Maurice 'I've had a lot worse from Dad' he thought, but kept to himself.  
  
"Let's go see the Principal, We're calling your parents" Mr. Wagner ordered taking hold of Maurice's shirt.  
  
'What a way to start the week,' Maurice thought. 


	3. Out of the Frying Pan; Into the Fire

All disclaimers still apply. I don't own anything. Yada…Yada…Yada  
  
Warnings: Rated R for Bad language and Child Abuse. If this sort of thing bothers you don't read.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3 – Out of the Frying Pan; Into the Fire  
  
Maurice was sitting in a hard office chair when his Dad came out of the door to Mr. Seaver's office. He just had to look at his father to tell that he was really mad. He knew his mother wouldn't be here, she was probably still recovering from the beating his dad had given her last night. Maurice suddenly got scared all over again. He was trying to figure out a way to get himself out of this mess but he knew it was hopeless. Johnnie had told the Principal that Maurice had thrown the first punch. Which he did and admitted to, but nobody seemed to care that he was only trying to defend Vinnie. His dad didn't seem to believe anything that came out of his mouth anyway.  
  
His Dad grabbed him by the shirt and stood him up. 'How many times have I been grabbed and pushed around today?' Maurice thought himself. He noticed he was sore, but the guys really hadn't done that much damage it just looked like they had. His face was bruised and swollen and his clothes were muddy and torn. He knew the damage would be much worse once his Dad got him home.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Seaver," Maurice heard his Dad saying. "We'll deal with this problem ourselves."  
  
"Your welcome, and remember he is suspended for ten days for fighting. Hopefully he has learned his lesson." Mr. Seaver said as Maurice cringed. 'Ten days at home. What a Nightmare!'  
  
**************  
  
The ride home was quiet. His Dad just kept looking into the back seat and frowning. 'Yeah he's probably trying to plan out his beatings for the next ten days,' Maurice thought as he turned to stare out the window. Before long, they reached their house.  
  
"Get your ass cleaned up and go to your room. And you better stay there until I call for you," His dad barked.  
  
Maurice quickly went to follow his dad's orders. 'I'm definitely in trouble now.'  
  
***************  
  
It wasn't long after a bath and a change of clothes that his dad came into the room.  
  
"What the hell happened this time?" His dad asked.  
  
"Well Dad I was just sitting at lunch when Johnnie and his friends began pounding on Vinnie, I went to help him when they started pounding on me." Maurice tried to explain.  
  
"Well, you're a fucking idiot to try to take a beating for another guy," His dad argued. "Now sit in here and be quiet while I discuss your punishment with your mother.  
  
Without waiting for a reply, his dad walked out slamming the door behind him.  
  
A few minutes later Maurice heard yelling down the hall. 'Great Mom and Dad are fighting again.' Maurice determined. He then heard the very familiar sound of skin on skin as his dad slapped his mom. "Well I'm in trouble anyway" Maurice said out loud as he opened his bedroom door and headed toward the kitchen and the source of the sounds. He passed Mikey's room and of course he had on his headphones drowning out the sounds. Mikey was never one to interfere with one of mom and dad's "prizefights".  
  
He walked into the kitchen and saw his mother holding her left hand on her already bruised cheek. Dad had a hold of her right wrist. His Dad had his back to Maurice and was saying something to her in a low tone.  
  
"Let her go Dad!" Maurice shouted.  
  
His dad spun around mad as fire. "What the hell are you doing out of your room? Didn't I tell you to keep your ass there?"  
  
"Uh…Yes" Maurice started, "but…uh…you're hurting her." He was definitely losing his nerve quickly.  
  
"Oh, that's right. You are the one who loves to take beatings for other people. Well this is your lucky day. How about I let you take a beating for your mother." His dad sneered.  
  
His dad quickly crossed the room to where Maurice was standing and back- handed him across the cheek. Maurice's cheek, already sore from before, was now really stinging. His lip also had started bleeding again.  
  
"Stop Dad Please" Maurice pleaded, but his dad didn't even slow down. Blows began raining down. His face, his stomach, his back, it didn't matter where, his dad hit it. Maurice was now on the floor curled in a fetal position trying to protect himself. 'He's going to kill me' He then heard his dad taking off his belt. It didn't take long before he felt the first slash across his shoulder and back. His earlier mantra that had gotten him through the bullies' beatings was thrown out the door, he began crying. It wasn't long until unconsciousness finally reached him. 


	4. Darkness Cometh

Sorry for the late post! I made this one extra long to make up for it.  
  
Chapter 4 – Darkness Cometh  
  
It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. He hurt everywhere. That's all Maurice knew at the moment. He looked around but he couldn't see anything. His first thought was his dad had damaged his eyes with his punches. He began to feel around slowly and realized he was locked inside the linen closet. He found the door knob and tried to open it, but the door was jammed from the other side. The light switch of course was outside in the hallway. He tried to yell but his throat was scratchy, all that came out was a whispery voice much lower than he meant it to be. But it must have been loud enough, because he instantly heard his father's voice. "Be quiet for once. You'll be in there for a while."  
  
Maurice gently pulled his legs up to him and buried his face in his arms on top of his knees and wept. After an hour, Maurice had cried his self to sleep.  
  
***************  
  
It was morning when the door to the closet opened. It was his mother. "Come on Baby, he's gone to work." Maurice gently eased out squinting as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light of morning. His body was stiff and sore from staying all night in that closet. His mother led him into the bathroom where she had a tub full of warm water. "Maurice, take off your clothes and ease into the water. It will help take the soreness out. I've left out some jogging pants for you. Go straight to your room when you are finished and I will put something on your back."  
  
"Okay." Maurice whispered.  
  
The bath stung on some of his open wounds, but for the most part it did feel good. 'Mom was right!' Maurice thought to himself. 'I guess she has had lots of practice.'  
  
He got out of the bath and was drying off when he caught a look of himself in the mirror. His left eye was bruised and swollen and had been cut right at the brow. His left cheek was a deep shade of purple, and his lip was split and swollen to twice the normal size. He turned slightly and winced as he caught a look at his back. The belt had left angry looking welts that criss-crossed his back and shoulders. He eased on his jogging pants, and headed to his room. His mom was there with her medicine bag. "Lay down on the bed face down so I can put this cream on your welts. It will take away the stinging and help the bruises to fade quickly."  
  
He did as his mother instructed and within minutes of her massaging the cream on his back, Maurice fell asleep.  
  
*****************  
  
Maurice woke what seemed like only a couple of hours later, which ended up being a few hours later. His mom had placed a blanket over him while he slept and now he felt so warm and comfortable he could almost forget last night. A door slam brought him back to reality. He started to jump up but the soreness and stiffness of his body protested greatly, so instead he just slid off the side of the bed. He made his way to the chair in his room to retrieve the t-shirt he had left when he noticed his back again. The cream and the rest had definitely helped. Only the worst welts were left.  
  
He headed to the kitchen where he could already hear his father demanding to know what was for supper. 'Great I must have slept all day' He paused in the doorway to the kitchen waiting for his mother and father to notice him. His mother was the first. "You should have stayed in bed, Maurice."  
  
"I'm fine now, mom" Maurice whispered, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry I got into trouble at school." 'Maybe if I suck up to Dad he will consider last night my punishment.'  
  
"Go to your room and I will be there shortly to discuss your punishment."  
  
'Well there goes that idea', Maurice thought as he headed back to his room.  
  
***************  
  
He walked into his room and sat on the bed pulling his knees to his chest, waiting for the inevitable. It was only a few minutes when his dad came in and shut the door. This is going to be bad, Maurice thought.  
  
"Well Maurice, I have thought long and hard about what your punishment should be, and I have come to what I think is fair." His dad started. "Since you seem to like getting beaten up…" Maurice involuntarily cringed. "I have decided that every night after supper you will get 25 lashes from the belt from me. Well that isn't so bad, maybe I can make it. Then, since you just love the linen closet you will stay there every night. This will go on for your entire ten day punishment. Okay I changed my mind. This is bad. And your brother has been warned to stay away from you so you won't get any help from him. If you take your punishment willingly, I may, I said MAY, go easy on you and stop on Sunday."  
  
Yeah, that's so he can belt me harder and have a couple more days for me to recover. Maurice thought. "But Dad it's dark in the closet, really dark. Can't you keep the light on in there, please?"  
  
His dad began laughing, "Ooh, the little tough guy is scared of the dark?"  
  
Maurice shook his head. "I'm not scared, it's just it's so small I can't move at all, and it being dark, it is hard to know where everything is."  
  
"Maybe I should banish you to the linen closet more often. It sounds like you really are starting to like it." His dad continued laughing. "Supper will be ready in about two hours, stay in here until I call for you."  
  
***************  
  
It was actually about two and a half hours when his mother finally called him for supper. As Maurice made his way to the table he noticed his mom, dad and Mikey already seated at the table. Maurice sat across from Mikey in his normal chair, and looked over at Mikey, who was looking everywhere else except at Maurice.  
  
"Mikey is instructed not to make eye contact or to speak with you until your punishment is over. So don't try to start any conversations." His dad stormed.  
  
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Maurice didn't have much of an appetite despite missing breakfast and lunch. His upcoming punishment seemed to dim his hunger, so he just mainly pushed his food around his plate. His mother looked as if she was going to say something, but a glare from Maurice's dad silenced her quickly. As soon as everyone was finished his dad boomed, "Mikey you can go to your room, your brother can clean up the dishes." Maurice went ahead and gathered the dirtied dishes and headed into the kitchen.  
  
He had just finished the last dish when felt a hand on his arm. He looked up and saw his dad's evil grin. "Guess what time it is." He then pulled Maurice into the living room while stripping his shirt off. He threw Maurice up over the back of the couch and started pulling off his belt. "Now I do believe I owe you 25 lashes tonight. Just a reminder for tomorrow, don't wear a shirt to supper. It'll make it easier for me." He said laughing. What's so funny about that? The first lash came down quickly, surprising Maurice making him cry out. "Shut up, this is only the beginning." By the end of the twenty-five lashes Maurice was in tears. His dad dragged him by the arm to the linen closet and went to shove him in.  
  
"Please dad not the closet" Maurice pleaded. "I'll take the beatings but please don't put me in that small closet."  
  
"Quit your whining brat and get in there" he said shoving Maurice in.  
  
Maurice immediately curled himself up as carefully as possible in a fetal position in the small closet. After one last look his dad shut the door. Maurice heard a chair being pressed up against the door blocking his way out. Then he was truly alone. After just a few minutes, the dark seemed to haunt Maurice. His back was hurting terribly and it just made him that much more frightened, and he started to shake. Maurice was unsure whether it was from the pain or the fact that he was locked in this closet, without a way of getting out. He finally had to admit to himself. He was afraid of this closet and especially the dark. Maurice finally shut his eyes and cried himself to sleep for the second night in a row.  
  
***************  
  
Tell me what you think! 


	5. Fear of the Dark

Thanks for the wonderful comments. This is my first fan fic ever and I was kind of worried. Thanks so much!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 – Fear of the Dark  
  
By: Blade  
  
All disclaimers still apply  
  
Warning: Child Abuse Follows and bad language  
  
  
  
'He was running. Someone was chasing him, but he couldn't see his attacker. He fled down a tunnel but it was dark. Pitch black dark. Knowing he had no choice he ran into the dark. But as he ran farther into the tunnel everything became dark. He no longer knew in which direction he was running. He no longer knew where the person was that was chasing him. As he stood there looking around something grabbed him from behind. He tried a scream but a strong hand clamped over his mouth. Out of no where someone else started beating him over and over again. Finally he heard someone say, here put the boy out of his misery. Light from somewhere gleamed off something above him. He just barely made out something swinging towards his head…'  
  
Maurice woke up with a start. 'It was only a nightmare. It was only a nightmare.' It was pitched black around him and he didn't know at first where he was. He started to panic as his nightmare came back to him. His breathing became erratic and he started thrashing around, really causing pain to shoot through his badly abused body. He tried screaming but he couldn't catch his breath. He was really scared now. He heard someone, who had obviously heard his distress, trying to open the closet that he was locked in. Suddenly his father's figure stood in the doorway. Maurice desperately tried to make his way past his dad, but unfortunately, with his dad in the doorway, he was sufficiently blocked.  
  
"What is your problem?" His dad yelled angrily.  
  
"I...had...a...nightmare." Maurice struggled out between breaths. "Please don't…make me…stay…in there."  
  
"Well I can give you plenty of nightmares out here if you don't quiet down in here." His father said shoving Maurice back in the closet slamming the door behind him. Maurice couldn't get back to sleep after that. Trying to be quiet, Maurice suffered in silence. The dark kept creeping in on him. His body hurt all over and he was sure that he would die that night. The longer he stayed in that closet, the more scared he got. After about two hours, his breath started coming in short bursts. Finally after three hours in the closet, Maurice passed out.  
  
The next morning, his mom came to retrieve Maurice as before, it took a few minutes for her to rouse him but eventually he came around with a start. "Are you alright?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied. He didn't want to tell her he was still scared of the dark. His mom ordered him to take his bath just like yesterday, but this day was a bit different than the day before. Obviously his dad hadn't appreciated him being asleep when he got home the day before, so today his dad had left a list of things he had to get done before he got home. Maurice looked at the first item. Scrub the kitchen floor, the bathroom floors, dust all furniture, and scrub the toilet and tub. 'Well that doesn't seem too hard. What do I need to get started. Mop and Bucket should do for now. This shouldn't take too long.' So he made his way into the kitchen and started pulling out the mop so he could get started when his mother came into the room. "I'm sorry Maurice, but your dad left specific instructions that you are to be doing your work manually." Maurice looked confused for a moment, 'Manually? Do they think that that the mop is automated?' His mother pointed to the bucket and sponge lying in the far corner. "I went ahead and mixed the solution for cleaning. You can get started anytime. But I'd hurry, you have a lot more things to do before your dad gets home."  
  
Maurice put up the mop back up and headed to the bucket and sponge. His aching body, especially his back protested him crawling on the floor not to mention the scrubbing. 'This is going to be a long, pain filled day.'  
  
***************  
  
Maurice was on the last item when he heard his dad come home, early. He tried to quickly finish scrubbing the bath tub but his knees, arms and back hurt so much he couldn't go very fast. 'I should have known he'd come home early. He probably just wanted to catch me working so he could have an excuse to punish me more.'  
  
"Didn't I make it clear enough that you were suppose to have this finished when I get home?" His dad barked.  
  
"I've worked hard all day. I even worked through lunch trying to get it done. I'm on my last chore," Maurice pleaded wearily. He felt like he was about to fall out.  
  
"You lazy brat, you probably took your time all day long, and now you want to waste my time begging to give you more time?" His dad's voice was rising to a dangerous level.  
  
"I'm sorry, it won't take but a few minutes," pleaded Maurice.  
  
"Finish then!" His dad yelled, "But tonight, you're going to regret wasting my time."  
  
Maurice finished the tub with tear filled eyes. He could hear his mother trying to calm his father down and assuring him that Maurice had worked hard all day, but it was to no avail. Maurice knew tonight was going to be really bad.  
  
After he was finished he emptied and cleaned the bucket he had used and put away his supplies. He headed to the living room to ask his dad if there was anything else he had to do before supper. 'I'd hate to do any thing else that would piss him off.' His dad was sitting in a recliner leaned back watching a baseball game, drinking a Jack Daniels. 'Great he's getting drunk. That's all I need. He doesn't know when to quit when he's drinking.' "Dad, I'm finished with my chores. Is there anything else you need me to do before supper?"  
  
"Yeah, you can do one thing for me." His dad slurred, "Get the hell away from me! Go to your room and for once stay out of my sight, you worthless brat!"  
  
Maurice quickly tried to make his way to his room with his head hanging low. He ran straight into Mikey who was standing in the doorway to the living room waiting to talk to Dad. "Great Mo, you've gotten Dad mad. Now he will never let me go spend the night with Tommy."  
  
"You want to spend the night with Tommy? Fine. Go. Hell spend the rest of the week and weekend with him. It'll give me and Maurice time to bond. Don't you think so Maurice?" His dad scoffed looking straight at Maurice. "Anyways, Mikey aren't you supposed to be ignoring your brother?" He turned and muttered to himself, "At least this way I'll get one of you out of my hair." Mikey lowered his head and headed to his room to pack his things. Maurice also quietly turned and headed once again to his room.  
  
"Hey Mo, maybe you should get into trouble more often. It sure takes a lot of the heat off of Mom and me," Mikey muttered as soon as they were out of hearing range from the living room. Maurice just kept walking to his room, dreading tonight's punishment, and even more dreading that linen closet that was sure to follow.  
  
***************  
  
Supper was almost a mirror image to last night's. The only difference was that Mikey was missing, and this time Maurice had not worn a shirt per Dad's orders from last night. He did notice that his dad was still drinking. 'Maybe he'll drink so much and pass out. Yeah Fat Chance!' Despite missing lunch, Maurice was not hungry. He sat at the table just pushing the items around his plate not eating. After his mom and dad had finished eating, Maurice automatically started cleaning up the dishes.  
  
It didn't take long to wash the dishes for the three of them. 'I guess it's time to face the inevitable.' After washing all the dishes he made his way into the living room mentally preparing him self for the punishment. His dad came up silently behind him and grabbed his arm. Maurice knew he was headed for the couch again. His dad caught him by surprise by spinning him around and landed a vicious punch to his stomach. Maurice's legs buckled from under him, but his dad still had hold of his arm and held him up. Another punch to his stomach followed, and then a back-handed slap across the face. His dad let go now throwing Maurice onto the floor. Maurice was crying now trying to figure out what happened to the belt lashing he was supposed to get. He didn't have to wonder long. Instantly he felt fire across his back and shoulders and his dad laid into him. After only five lashes Maurice passed out.  
  
****************  
  
Maurice woke some time later in that dark closet. He tried to move but excruciating pain flared along his back, and he quickly passed out again from the pain.  
  
The next thing he knew, it was light and his mother was shaking him and was wearing a very worried look. Maurice was only partially aware of what was going on and for some reason he couldn't answer her question of 'Are you okay?' His mom started to pull him out of the closet, the pain shot through his abdomen and back causing him to pass out once again.  
  
****************  
  
'He was running… it was dark. He couldn't out run the guys behind him, he knew that. He ran once again to the darkened tunnel. It was so dark, but there wasn't any other choice. As soon as he entered he felt hands all over him. They had hold of his arms and legs. He couldn't move. He just knew they were going to kill him. They put something into his arm. "Leave me alone, please." He kept saying it over and over, "Just leave me alone".'  
  
"Just leave me alone" he said out loud. He heard voices around him and still felt the hands on him and whatever it was in his arm, but he was scared to open his eyes not wanting to know what was going on. He instantly he heard a familiar voice. "Come on baby, just open your eyes. You're okay."  
  
"Mom?" Maurice whispered as he cracked open his eyes to the surprise that it was light outside. He looked around. He was laying on a gurney and had an IV in his arm, and his mom stood off to one side of him with two other people in a uniform he didn't recognize.  
  
Noticing where Maurice was looking his mom quickly added, "Maurice these people are EMTs, they are here to help you. You were more injured in the fight at school than we originally thought." She said this in a way, that Maurice knew better than to contradict her. 'Yeah, she doesn't want Dad to get into trouble.'  
  
"This was done at school?" One EMT stated not really sounding convinced. The EMT had also noticed the faded bruises on her cheek.  
  
"Well part of it. He was wrestling with his brother yesterday and sustained more bruising," she lied. "But most of his injuries were made at school. I have a note from the Principal around here somewhere stating his suspension following the fight. We also had him doing a lot of chores yesterday as punishment. I guess we pushed him too far too fast, and he just got exhausted."  
  
'Yeah leave it to mom to have an excuse for everything.'  
  
"Well we will have to carry him to the hospital. He looks like he's just exhausted and dehydrated. You might want to find that note from the Principal and bring it to the hospital. I'm sure Social Services would like to have a look at it." The EMT stated as they started pushing the gurney outside. "Oh, Mrs. Boscorelli, has Maurice been eating much lately? He looks mighty thin."  
  
"He hasn't been eating very well lately. I think he was just so mad at us for grounding him for fighting it was his way of rebelling. I figured that when he got hungry he would eat."  
  
They were at the back of the ambulance by then. The two EMTs lifted the gurney easily into the ambulance. "Do you want to ride with us or are you going on your own. They will probably keep him for a couple of days to make sure he's okay."  
  
'Well thank goodness for small favors. Dad can't beat me in the hospital.'  
  
"I'm going to stay here. My husband is going to meet you there anyway." His mother answered. 'Yeah she probably doesn't want to have to explain her bruises as well as mine.'  
  
"You're not going to the hospital at all?" the EMT asked.  
  
"Why, I'm sure you know how to take care of him," she gave one last look at Maurice and turned and when into the house.  
  
One EMT climbed in the back with Maurice while the other closed the doors and headed to the driver's side.  
  
The ride to the hospital was interesting to say the least. The EMTs kept asking Maurice questions like "what happened" and "How are you feeling?" It was all Maurice could do to stay awake, much less answer questions. 'Will they please leave me alone? How do they think I feel?' By the time they arrived at the hospital and carried Maurice in, he noticed his dad, shooting daggers at him with his eyes, standing at the front counter. 'Mom must have called him before she called the ambulance. Of course she probably had to get permission to call them or something.' They carried him into an examination room and transferred him to the bed there. The EMT told him to stay put until a doctor came to check him out. 'Stay put? Like I could get up if I wanted to, I'm so sore and tired I don't think I could get out of this bed if the building caught on fire.' Just a few minutes later a guy in a white coat came in. 'The doctor I presume.' "Mr. Maurice Boscorelli, I'm Dr. Westlake, and I will be your doctor for the time being." 'Boy I'm good!' "The EMTs told me that you have been virtually unresponsive and that they had a hard time waking you to begin with. Do you want to tell me what happened?"  
  
"My mom already told the EMTs what happened, ask them." Maurice said in a very low voice.  
  
"Oh, so you can talk!" The doctor smiled trying to calm the young man.  
  
"The EMTs said that you haven't been eating. Do you want to tell me why?"  
  
"I haven't been hungry." Maurice stated in a very small voice.  
  
"Do you want to tell me how you got all those bruises?"  
  
Maurice just turned his head towards the wall signaling to the Doctor that he was not answering anymore questions. The doctor got the hint, he just put on a small sad smile and said in a cheery voice, trying to ease Maurice's fears. "Okay, let's find out what is wrong with you."  
  
Tbc…  
  
  
  
**************  
  
More to come! Tell me what you think so far! 


	6. Diagnosis

Why?  
  
By: Blade  
  
Warning: Child Abuse and Bad Language  
  
  
  
Chapter 6 - Diagnosis  
  
It was at least an hour later that Maurice's dad came in with the doctor. Maurice turned to look at them but they began talking to one another completely ignoring the fact that he was laying right there. "So what's the matter with him?" His dad asked sounding as if this was completely wasting his time. 'Great I've wasted his time even more. He will probably kill me when I get home.'  
  
"Well Mr. Boscorelli, Maurice is dehydrated and a little undernourished. He does have a lot of bruising, I'm assuming from the fight. Some of these bruises look fresh, but with the state his body is in, it could just be that his body is just slow to heal."  
  
"Well we were working him hard doing chores as punishment for getting into the fight, I guess we pushed him a little too hard too fast." His dad acted concerned. "He's a little rough around the house with his brother sometimes. Some of the bruises could have come from that. But what made him pass out and become so unresponsive?"  
  
"Well he is really exhausted. Has he been sleeping very well?"  
  
"Well he was complaining about nightmares," His dad answered.  
  
"I'm pretty sure it wasn't just one thing. The exhaustion, dehydration, and the undernourishment combined is probably what made him pass out like that," the doctor explained.  
  
"But Doctor, is he going to be okay? We just want to make sure he's okay and bring him home."  
  
'Boy, Dad's laying it on thick. Surely the Doctor will notice that he's faking.'  
  
The doctor obviously didn't see through his dad's façade. "I understand your concern, Mr. Boscorelli. We will keep Maurice one or two days for observation. We would like to get some more fluids in him, and we would like to make sure he gets some sleep. A nurse will be here shortly to move Maurice to a room upstairs. Then we will try to get him to eat something." With that the Doctor left the room, leaving Maurice and his Dad together.  
  
"Well you really screwed up this time," his dad said in a low tone, leaning over the bed to get in Maurice's face. "You are such a wimp. Can't handle anything can you? Well listen to this, Son. The police and social services are coming to ask you some questions about what happened. You better say the bruises are from the fight, and nothing better be said about the lashes, the closet or anything that will get us in trouble. If you say anything they will take you away from us and away from everyone you know. They will put you into a foster family that doesn't give a crap about you. You may think you are treated badly now, but you will be treated even worse if you are taken to a foster family. You will be seen as a trouble maker and every family will treat you bad for causing trouble in your past family. Do you understand?"  
  
Maurice just nodded his head.  
  
Approximately ten minutes later the nurse came in. She first checked his IV and secured it to the side of his bed. "Now Maurice, my name is Janet. We are going on a little trip." She said quietly. She then proceeded to take him upstairs to his new room.  
  
***************  
  
Janet helped settle Maurice into his new room and bed. She changed his IV bag, since the other was almost empty. The whole trip Maurice had not said a word. Janet broke the silence. "Maurice I have some soup here I want you to try to eat." She brought the table over to the bed that had the tray on it. Maurice was so frightened by what his dad had said he only ate a couple of bites.  
  
"Come on Maurice, you can eat a little more," the nurse tried encouraging the frightened boy.  
  
"I'm not really that hungry," Maurice said in a small voice as he pushed the tray away from him.  
  
The nurse frowned at him, "You need to eat. I tell you what, if you eat just two more spoonfuls of soup, I will take the rest away."  
  
Maurice pulled the tray back and ate his two spoonfuls then pushed the tray back. The nurse kept her word and took the soup away. In just a few minutes she came back in the room and came over to the bed. "Maurice, there are some people outside that would like to talk to you about what happened. After they get through, I would like for you to take a nap, okay?" She smiled at Maurice making him think he could trust her.  
  
Maurice just nodded his head, returning her smile. Although his was not half as big as the one he received in return.  
  
"If you need anything, just press this button right here," Janet said showing him the nurses call button. Then she opened the door and motioned to someone out of Maurice's sight. Instantly two men in uniform and a lady in a business suit appeared at the door and entered Maurice's room.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ms. Natalie Jeffers from Social Services, how are you feeling Maurice?"  
  
He just shrugged. He wasn't about to talk to this lady, all he could think about was that they were going to put him into a worse family that he was in now.  
  
"I'm a little worried about the condition you are in," Ms. Jeffers continued, "Your parents say that your bruises were sustained in a fight at school. Is that correct?"  
  
Maurice nodded, too scared to say anything else.  
  
"Okay, how about your eating habits? Have you been eating okay lately?"  
  
Maurice shrugged, "I just haven't been hungry lately." 'Not to mention Dad keeps me so busy and so sore and tired I don't feel like eating.' He thought to himself.  
  
"Let's talk about your home life? Come on Maurice you can trust me." Ms. Jeffers added when she saw Maurice already shaking his head no.  
  
Maurice suddenly became very agitated and upset, "NO…NO! You just want to take me away. Don't let her take me away." Maurice yelled at no one in particular.  
  
"It's alright, no one is going to take you away. I promise," Ms. Jeffers reassured him. Another lady in a business suit came in then and handed Ms. Jeffers a note. She read it silently and then turned to Maurice. "This is a note from your Principal, he confirms that you were in a fight on Monday and were bruised badly. I don't think that there is any reason to further investigate the bruises, but I will be by later to talk to you and your parents about the undernourishment and the exhaustion. I do hope you get better. Please stay out of fights for now on and take care of yourself." She said with a smile. Then she got up and left the room. One officer followed her out but another stayed behind. As soon as the others had left he came to Maurice's bed.  
  
"So how are you feeling, really?" He asked.  
  
"Fine, tired," Maurice admitted.  
  
"Yeah, I bet." The officer stated.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Maurice asked.  
  
"Well I know you are afraid. I can see it in your eyes. I don't know if you are afraid of that Ms. Jeffers taking you away, or afraid of being alone. So I just figured I'll sit here until you go to sleep. That way you can be sure that nobody will hurt you."  
  
"Why?" Maurice was curious but he could barely keep his eyes open. He was just so sleepy. Can I trust this guy?  
  
"Well my job is to protect people. And you are the only one right now who needs protecting." The officer stated.  
  
"Protecting people is what got me in trouble," Maurice claimed.  
  
"Why don't you tell me what happened?" The officer asked. So Maurice did.  
  
"My dad said I was stupid for taking the hits for another guy. But you know what, if the same thing happened tomorrow, I would probably do the same thing. I just can't stand to see little guys like that being taken advantage of." Maurice sighed sleepily.  
  
"You'd be a great cop. That's what we do. We help those who are being taken advantage of." The officer stated. "We help the little guys, like you." The officer smiled and tweaked the end of Maurice's nose earning him a real smile and a giggle from the young boy, the first real smile and giggle that escaped the boy in a long while. "Would you like for me to get you're your parents to come in and stay with you until you fall asleep?"  
  
"No, that's alright, but you can stay with me." 'Dad can't beat come in and threaten me with a police officer here, and maybe I won't have any nightmares knowing that a cop is here protecting me,' he thought to himself.  
  
The officer smiled and nodded.  
  
"Can you do me a favor?" Maurice asked.  
  
"Sure, what do you need?"  
  
"When I get to sleep don't let the nurses turn the lights off. The dark scares me." Maurice muttered low as if embarrassed at his weakness.  
  
"Sure I'll tell Nurse Janet to make sure the light stays on at all times." The officer smiled sitting down in the chair next to his bed.  
  
"Hey, you know what?" Maurice smiled, "Maybe when I get big, I'll be a cop and I'll protect little people like me too."  
  
The officer turned to Maurice and smiled, "That would be great." He then leaned in like he was going to tell Maurice a secret, then he whispered, "I tell you what, if you ever need any help getting into police work just call me and I'll give you a hand." The officer lightly grabbed Maurice's hand with one hand and laid the other on Maurice's forehead. "Go to sleep little Maurice. Sweet dreams." Maurice started closing his eyes.  
  
Maurice opened his eyes barely like he was already half-asleep and groggily asked, "What is your name?"  
  
The officer chuckled, "Yes I suppose I didn't tell you that did I. My name is Glenn Hobart. But you can call me Glennie, all my friends do."  
  
Maurice smiled and wearily shut his eyes, quickly falling into a deep and undisturbed sleep.  
  
  
  
***************  
  
I know it's short, but hopefully there will be more tomorrow! 


	7. Loneliness

Why?  
  
By: Blade  
  
All disclaimers still apply  
  
Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7: Loneliness  
  
  
  
It was the next morning when Maurice woke, he slowly became aware that he was alone in the hospital room and the lights were burning brightly. 'Well there are definite advantages of being in the hospital. Dad can't beat me here, and the officer must have told the nurses to leave the lights on.' A nurse came in to his room carrying a tray of food and some more medication in the form of a shot. 'I sure hope that's not for me.'  
  
The nurse sat the food on a rolling tray that rolled over the bed. The food actually didn't look so bad, but then again he was so hungry at that moment that anything would have looked good. 'I can't believe I'm actually hungry. Maybe it's because I'm not afraid of my punishment like I am at home.' He quickly dug into his scrambled eggs and applesauce that the nurse had brought him. He was almost through when he looked up and was almost startled to find that the nurse was still there. 'Has she been watching me eat, the whole time?'  
  
She laughed, "I kind of figured you would be hungry. You didn't eat very much at lunch and supper yesterday, but you eat like you haven't eaten in a year. I am glad you have gotten your appetite back."  
  
'She has no idea.' Maurice just smiled back at her and continued eating. When Maurice finished he placed his utensils back on his tray and laid back on the bed. The nurse came and rolled the tray away from his bed. She then proceeded to straighten his covers and check his IV's. "You are doing just fine, Maurice," the nurse said. "Ms. Jeffers from social services will be at 11:30 to meet with you and your parents and to check on how you are doing. The doctor will also be meeting with your parents to let them know when you can be released."  
  
"When are they going to let me go home?" Maurice asked in a small voice.  
  
"The doctor will probably want to keep you another night just to make sure you get plenty of food and rest since you didn't get very much solid food yesterday. If you keep eating like you just did, your parents can probably take you home first thing tomorrow," the nurse said.  
  
The nurse brought out a syringe and immediately Maurice started backing up on the bed. "Don't worry little one. This goes into your IV, you won't feel a thing." She said laughing at his reaction. She grabbed the IV tubing and gently eased the fluid into it. "See, no problem. This is your antibiotics. It's going to make sure that the few cuts you have don't get infected. I'm going to go and get a wheelchair for you. We have a game room for the children that are here. I'll unhook your IV and take you there so you can play a little until your parents and Ms. Jeffers get here."  
  
"Cool!"  
  
***************  
  
Nurse Janet wheeled Maurice down the hall. The wheelchair that he was in was so big that it made him look even smaller that he was. There were other kids his age also heading for the game room. There was one major difference though. Every kid here had at least one parent pushing their wheelchair or playing with them. "Do they have games for the parents too?" Maurice asked the nurse.  
  
"No. There are some games that the parents like to play with their kids though. Mainly most of the parents come so they can spend some time with their kids, and kind of look after them while they are here in the hospital." The nurse explained. "I'm really surprised that your parents aren't here with you."  
  
'I'm not. This would be a complete waste of time in my dad's book. My dad is probably at home celebrating that I'm not there or planning how to really punish me when I get home. And mom is probably doing everything she can to keep dad happy.' Maurice thought. By this time they had arrived at the game room. There were arcade games and board games everywhere. There were only four other kids in there at the time, all with parents.  
  
"Do you see anything that you would like to do?" Nurse Janet said.  
  
"I'll try the arcade game in the back corner."  
  
Janet brought him over to the game, "Here we are. Do you want anything else?"  
  
'Yeah, my mom,' Maurice thought but instead he just shook his head.  
  
Once he was settled and ready to play the game she said, "I have some work to do, but I'll be checking in with you every so often. Remember we will be meeting with you parents and Ms. Jeffers soon so I'll probably take you back to your room in one hour. That will give us about 30 minutes to settle you back in. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Maurice said turning to the game as the nurse walked away. He was anxious to get started playing and get his mind off of all the happy parents and kids around the room. 'What did I do to make my own parents hate me? I can understand Dad not being here, but why doesn't Mom care about me?' Fighting back tears he began playing in earnest.  
  
***************  
  
The hour went by fast. It didn't feel like long until the nurse came back to take Maurice to his room.  
  
"Hey, are you ready to go back?" Janet asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The nurse turned Maurice around and started to head out of the game room. Maurice took another look at the game room. He hadn't bothered to look the whole time he was playing. Now there were close to ten kids there playing various games. All of which had at least one parent there with them. Looking away quickly, Maurice tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall. Nurse Janet noticed however and frowned. "I'm sure your parents wanted to be here with you. They were probably busy." She tried to reassure him as she pushed him out into the hallway.  
  
"Yeah, probably," he said, although his voice didn't sound that convincing. Nurse Janet took him all the way back to his room and helped him to the bathroom and then back to bed. Neither said another word until Maurice was in bed and the IV was reattached.  
  
"Here is the remote to the TV. You can watch whatever you want until they get here." She said with a smile.  
  
"Thanks." 'Cool, I actually get to watch whatever I want, not just what dad is watching.'  
  
He had just turned the TV on when Ms. Jeffers, the social worker, walked in with Nurse Janet. 'Well it doesn't look like I'll get to watch TV after all.' Maurice thought to himself as he cut the TV off once again.  
  
"Nurse Janet tells me that you are doing much better." Ms. Jeffers said coming to the side of his bed. "She says you are eating well and resting as you should be. That's good." At no response from Maurice she continued, "This shouldn't take long today, then you can have lunch and take a nap. You should be able to go home tomorrow."  
  
"Good," Maurice smiled. 'I can't believe it. I'm actually looking forward to going home. I'm definitely not looking forward to the punishment Dad probably has in store for me, but I do miss my Mom and even Mikey.'  
  
It was exactly 11:30 when his parents came in. 'You would know that Dad wouldn't come any earlier. I can't believe Mom came.' His mom looked at him and he gave her a big smile. He was so happy to see her. Nurse Janet and Ms. Jeffers saw his smile. His mom returned the smile and came over to his bed. "How are you doing Baby?" She asked.  
  
"Great now that you are here. I've missed you." Maurice said quietly so his dad couldn't hear. He didn't want to sound weak.  
  
His mom patted his hand and smiled. She then straightened and walked over to where Ms. Jeffers, Nurse Janet and his dad were talking.  
  
Nurse Janet was updating his parents on his condition. "He had a slow start eating yesterday, but he slept really well last night. This morning he did ate a very good breakfast, and if he continues to eat well today, and sleeps well tonight I don't see any reason why he shouldn't go home tomorrow. The doctor will be in after lunch to recheck him and to make the final decision on when he can leave. If you want to wait around until after lunch the doctor will speak to you about his condition."  
  
Ms. Jeffers seemed satisfied with the report. She turned to his parents, "Everything looks fine, but we are still a little concerned about the condition he was in when he got here. I don't think there is a problem, but since he is a minor we have to keep an eye on his situation from now on. We will be making unscheduled visits to your home checking on him and making sure that he is not getting in this condition again."  
  
"You're going to come in our home and tell me how to raise my child," his dad said, his voice rising making Maurice wince involuntarily.  
  
"If everything goes alright after one year we will discontinue the visits. We understand that sometimes children go through stages that they can't sleep or eat, so we normally go pretty lenient. However that doesn't mean we will not overlook those things." Ms. Jeffers explained, "We still want to keep an eye on his bruising too. While some more than likely came from the fight, I still believe some came from home." When his dad looked like he was about to fire back at her she interrupted, "It may be from wrestling with his brother or just normal roughhousing, but I would appreciate it if you were to keep his roughhousing to a minimum, it just makes the situation look that much worse." His dad seemed pretty satisfied with her explanation, but Maurice could tell he wasn't too happy about having a social worker come into his house at random. "That's all I have to say, do you have any questions for me before I go?" When both parents shook their heads no Ms. Jeffers turned and started to go.  
  
Nurse Janet came over to Maurice and checked the IV once again and turned to him. "I'm going to go and get you some lunch, but I'll be back in a few minutes." Then turning to his parents she said, "Can you stay with him a few minutes while I get his lunch?"  
  
His Mom started to nod, but his dad quickly said, "No, we have things we need to do. We can't just sit around here wasting time doing nothing."  
  
Noticing the defeated look on Maurice's face Janet turned to the parents, "Well the doctor won't be in for another 30 minutes to talk to you, so instead of you leaving and then having to come right back, why don't you just wait here?"  
  
"I have things to do," his father started then turned to his mother, "You can stay and meet with the doctor if you want.  
  
"Alright, I'll stay with Maurice until you come back with his lunch," his mother answered.  
  
"Okay, it'll just be a few minutes," Janet said already heading for the door with his dad close behind her.  
  
"I'm sure she will be back with your lunch in a few minutes. You won't have to wait too long," she said sitting in the chair beside his bed.  
  
'Why doesn't she realize that I don't care about the food? All I want is for her to spend time with me here. Why, doesn't she think I'm good enough for her?'  
  
Sure enough, it was only a few minutes when Janet came into the room carrying a tray with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it. It made Maurice's mouth water just looking at it. She sat it on his bed tray and helped him sit up to eat.  
  
"While you are eating I'm going downstairs until the doctor gets in here." His mother said while heading out the door.  
  
Janet saw the heartbroken look on Maurice's face and the tears he was desperately trying to hold back. Maurice put the sandwich back down on the tray, and said, "I'm not hungry."  
  
Janet sat down in the now unoccupied chair next to his bed and took hold of his hand. "Look your mother has been here through lunch, she probably just went downstairs to grab her something to eat out of the cantina. She will be back in a few minutes. It probably made her even hungrier watching you eat," she tried reassuring him, "But if you don't eat, they are going to keep you here another day, and I don't think you want that do you?" Maurice sadly shook his head. "See there," Janet continued, "Now eat your sandwich and your mother will be back in a moment."  
  
Maurice obediently picked up his sandwich and ate it. But he did it mainly for Nurse Janet not that his appetite had come back.  
  
  
  
Tbc…  
  
  
  
*****************  
  
Tell me what you think! 


	8. Evening Blues

Why?  
  
By: Blade  
  
All disclaimers still apply.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8 – Evening Blues  
  
The Doctor came in a few minutes after Janet had left with his empty food tray. Of course his mother had not come back yet. "Hey Maurice, I don't know if you remember me or not, but my name is Dr. Westlake. I treated you when you first came in."  
  
"I remember," Maurice answered.  
  
"Well you are talking more now than you were in the Emergency Room," the Doctor smiled, "well let me check your bruises and see if they are healing correctly and then I'll talk to your mother."  
  
"She's not here."  
  
"She's out in the hallway waiting with Nurse Janet," the Doctor assured. "I wanted to check you over myself before I talked to her. She will be in here as soon as I finish."  
  
'I can't believe it. She is actually waiting for me outside.'  
  
The doctor finished his examination with a smile, "you are healing nicely, I'm going to go and tell your mother she can come in now." He walked to the door and stepped just outside the doorway and motioned to someone in the hallway. Immediately his mom and Nurse Janet came walking in.  
  
"How is he doctor?" his mother asked.  
  
"He is healing nicely. His bruises are fading and he seems to be less exhausted and dehydrated. We will still keep him tonight, but I don't see why you can't take him home tomorrow." He said with a smile. The doctor then turned and left the room.  
  
"Did you hear that Baby? You can go home tomorrow, isn't that great?"  
  
"Yeah mom! Are you going to stay here with me for the rest of the day?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but I've got to go home and fix supper for your dad. I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up though." His mother assured, "I've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, bye Baby." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then headed out the door.  
  
Nurse Janet came over, "I'm sorry she wouldn't stay."  
  
Maurice looked at her and shrugged trying to fight back tears. "It probably would be boring for her anyway." 'Yeah why should she stay with a reject son like me?'  
  
"It's time for you to take a nap, and I have other things I have to do. Try to get some sleep, and when you wake, you can eat supper." She then turned and left the room.  
  
Maurice watched as Nurse Janet left the room. As soon as the door shut, he turned onto his side and curled into a fetal position, his favorite position of late, and let the dam holding back his tears fall. It wasn't long until he had cried himself to sleep.  
  
***************  
  
Maurice awoke a few hours later, and it was dark in the room. For a moment he thought he was back in the linen closet. His breaths came fast and shallow. He started panicking, he felt something on the back of his hand and his imagination thought it was something had a hold of him. With his other hand, he reached over and yanked at whatever had grasped his hand. Pain flooded his hand and ran quickly up his arm, he let out a yelp. Immediately someone came bursting through the door, turning on the lights. The nurse, someone Maurice didn't recognize gave a gasp. "You pulled your IV out!"  
  
"It was dark. I got scared when I woke up and didn't know what it was. You were supposed to leave the lights on. Nurse Janet knows to leave the lights on." Maurice was crying and ranting now. "Where is Nurse Janet? She said she was coming back to bring me supper."  
  
"I'm sorry, but her shift was over right after you fell asleep. You sure she said 'she' was bringing you supper?" the nurse said haughtily.  
  
Thinking back he wasn't sure.  
  
The nurse came over with some supplies and began working on his now bleeding hand. "Once I fix you up, I'm going to get you some supper. You better not pull this IV out when I leave."  
  
'It's not like I did it intentionally. If you had left the light on like Nurse Janet, I wouldn't have panicked and done it in the first place.' Maurice thought to himself, but said instead, "I won't, I promise."  
  
After replacing his IV, the nurse left the room grumbling about snotty kids.  
  
'Yeah, I bet you hate kids as much as I'm starting to hate you.' Maurice thought as he tried to wipe the tears from his face.  
  
It was thirty minutes later when the nurse brought his food in. It was something that Maurice didn't recognize and certainly didn't smell good. "What is this?"  
  
"Food, just eat it so I can get out of here."  
  
"Can I have a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich instead?"  
  
"No, that is all you are getting. Eat it willingly or I will force feed it to you." The nurse said.  
  
Maurice didn't know what force feeding was, but it didn't sound good, so he assumed it was something he wouldn't like. He took a big breath and began eating. It was all he could do not to gag on the food, but somehow he managed to force a good portion of the food down before he signaled that he was done. It must have been enough to satisfy the nurse because she took the tray and left the room after saying, "I'll be back to get you ready for bed."  
  
'Bed? But I just woke up. Man, talk about the Nurse from Hell'  
  
****************  
  
The nurse came back shortly pushing a cart. On the cart there were some leather things lined with fleece that Maurice didn't recognize. She picked up one and turned to Maurice. "These are restraints, I'm going to put them on you to make sure you don't pull your IV out again." She put up the side rails on the bed and attached the restraint first to his wrist then to the bed rail. Maurice pulled on it testing it and immediately knew he wouldn't get out of it. She moved around to the other side of the bed and repeated the process with the other wrist. 'Dad better not get a look at these, it would probably give him some ideas.'  
  
Seeing Maurice was then fully helpless the nurse asked, "Are you sleepy enough to go to sleep on your own or do you need some help?"  
  
Having just waked a little over an hour ago, Maurice wasn't sleepy. "I'm not very tired. Can I stay up and watch TV for a while until I get sleepy.  
  
"No! I'm not going to come in here and check on you every hour. Janet might cater to all you spoiled brats, but I'm not. You are going to go to sleep now whether you like it or not. Now do you want a sedative or not?"  
  
"No, I'll go to sleep on my own." Maurice said. 'This lady's crazy. How in the hell did she get a job nursing anybody, let alone kids.'  
  
"Fine, I better not hear a word from you," the nurse said as she was pushing her cart towards the door. As she started out the door she reached for the light switch.  
  
"Please leave the light on. I don't like the dark." Maurice pleaded.  
  
"Look, I saw the note Nurse Janet put on your chart about leaving the light on, but you are getting too old to sleep with the lights on. Get over it." With that she flipped the lights off and went out the door, plunging Maurice into the darkness.  
  
As soon as the door shut, Maurice began to panic. It was dark, he was tied down, and his nightmares from before started to come back to him. His breathing became erratic and his mind started to play tricks on him. The shadows seemed to move, he started to believe that they were men coming to beat him like in his nightmares. "Help me please!" he yelled out loud without even thinking about it.  
  
Suddenly the nurse came bursting in the door turning on the lights, "What do you want now?" She then saw he was panicking. "What is wrong with you?"  
  
"I don't like the dark, please leave the light on." Maurice pleaded again this time with tears streaming down his face.  
  
"I've already told you, get over it," the nurse said turning to go out the door.  
  
"Wait," Maurice said, "Maybe I do need help falling asleep."  
  
"Fine, I'll go get it," the nurse then flew out the door.  
  
She came back with a syringe and walked to the side of the bed. Maurice, expecting her to put it into the IV like Janet did, jumped when he felt her grab his arm. He went to move the arm out of her way but the restraints limited his movement. "Hold still, so I can get this into your vein," she hissed. Maurice let out a small shriek as she jabbed the needle into his vein and depressed the plunger. Immediately he started to feel the effects. "I better not hear anymore from you tonight." She said leaving the room turning out the lights once again. This time Maurice didn't even notice the darkness, he had already dropped into a deep sleep, his face still wet from his tears.  
  
  
  
Tbc…  
  
****************  
  
More to come! 


	9. Homeward Bound

Sorry for the wait!  All my readers thanks for the reviews!  Here is the post you all have been asking for. 

I had almost given up.  I didn't think there was anyone reading.  It's nice to be proven wrong.  Here's your next chapter.  I'll try to start posting more regularly.

Why?

By:  Blade

All disclaimers still apply

Chapter 9 – Homeward Bound

Maurice became aware of someone gently shaking him.  He cracked his eyes open and looked up to see Nurse Janet standing over him.  "Hey, you're back!" he said relieved it wasn't the Nurse from Hell again.  Remembering the nurse he looked and the restraints had been removed. 

Noticing where his focus had turned, Janet explained, "I took them off.  They never should have been put on you in the first place."

"Then why did she do it?"  

"Anne doesn't like kids very much.  Actually I don't think she likes kids at all." 

"Well I don't think she needs to be working with kids at all.  She is like the nurse from hell."

Janet laughed, "Yes, I'll have to agree with you on that.  She normally doesn't work in Peds.  She is actually a Trauma nurse.  The nurse that usually takes the other shift when I work called in sick yesterday, so they sent Anne up from Trauma." Then Janet snickered, "I guess it's probably a good thing that her normal patients usually are unconscious."

"Yeah," Maurice laughed with Janet.

"Ok, Mr. Boscorelli, are you ready for some good ole fashioned scrambled eggs?" Janet asked bringing the tray around filled with eggs, toast, and some more applesauce.

"Yes, I'm starved," Maurice said digging into his food.  "That food, if that's what you want to call it, last night was terrible," he said around a mouthful of food. 

Janet looked at him, "What did you have? You should have had a hot dog and potato chips last night."

Maurice shrugged, "I don't know what it was, but it didn't look like a hot dog to me."

"I bet she gave you what the other patients get," Janet said shaking her head, "The children up here get 'real' food.  I'm going to put in an official request for her not to be placed up here again."

"You mean the grown-ups have to eat that food all the time?" Maurice said scrunching up his nose in disgust.  Janet just grinned and nodded her head.

"Bummer."

****************

Maurice had finished eating breakfast and was watching TV when his doctor came in.  

"So Mr. Boscorelli, are you ready to go home?"

"Yes sir!"

"Well I've called your parents, and as soon as they get here, and fill out the necessary release forms, we can let you leave."

"Yippee!"

The doctor turned and left the room as Nurse Janet walked in.  "Well Maurice let me unhook your IV and make you a little more comfortable."

Maurice turned to her, "you know what Ms. Janet?"

Janet turned to him, "What Maurice?"

"I'm going to miss you.  You've been so nice to me."

Janet bent down and gave him a quick hug, "I'm going to miss you too.  Come back to see me sometime, but not as a patient."  Maurice laughed.  Janet then proceed to gently take the needle out of his arm and replaced it with a Mickey Mouse Band-aid.  "I tried to find something a little more macho for my little man, but this was all we had right now," She smiled.

Maurice fingered the band-aid, "it's fine." 'I wonder how many of these things it will take to fix me up after I get home and meet up with dad.'

****************

It was about 45 minutes later that his mom and dad came to pick him up.  His mom came to his room carrying some clothes for him to change into while his dad filled out the paperwork.  Maurice quickly changed and promptly sat in the wheelchair Nurse Janet had brought for him.  'I'm supposed to be better now, why am I still having to ride in a wheelchair?'  

Nurse Janet seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, "It's just procedure Maurice, every patient has to be wheeled out of here.  I guess they want to make sure that you don't fall and re-injure yourself before you make it out of here," She said chuckling.

Maurice laughed at her and settled in the chair for the ride.  Nurse Janet pushed him out into the hallway with his mother close behind.  She took him past the play room where there were many kids and their parents already playing.  He smiled to himself.  'Today, I have a parent with me as well.  It's too bad we're not going in there to play.  I would love to show them that I have parents too.'  Nurse Janet pushed him to the elevators where they all stepped in.  When they reached the first floor, she pushed him out to an awaiting father.  He was standing by the front desk with his arms crossed looking as if they were taking their time getting there.  Janet didn't seem to mind and took him straight to his father who abruptly turned and headed for the car, which was parked right outside the front door.

When they reached the car, Janet helped Maurice up and settled him into the back seat.  She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.  "You take care of yourself, you hear?" she said with a smile.  He just smiled back her and nodded.  She gently closed the door and smiled at his parents before walking away.

His mom and dad silently climbed into the car and started home.  'Why do I get the distinct feeling that I'm not going to like it at home?' 

About halfway home, his dad broke the uneasy silence in the car.  "Things are going to change when we get home."

'Well maybe it's going to be better.  It can't get much worse.' He thought to himself.

"Mrs. Jeffers has stated that she is going to be making unscheduled visits to our home to make sure you are being taken care of," his dad started, obviously annoyed with this, "Therefore, your punishment has been reduced.  There will be no more beatings for either you or your brother from now on."

'Cool!  This is great.  But why do I all of a sudden feel like there is a *but* coming on?'

"From now on," his dad continued, "All punishments will be done to your mother." 

Maurice looked at his mother, who had turned to stare out the window.  Obviously this topic had already been discussed between them.  'Okay, so I was wrong before.  This has gotten much worse.'

"Also, for the rest of your suspension, you will spend each night locked in the closet," 

tbc... for now!

Sorry for the wait!  I'll try to have the next post ready for Thursday!


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